Evgenii Novikov

Dr. Evgenii Novikov, an expert on Islam and on the politics and economics of the Persian Gulf region. Born in Kyrgyzstan of Russian parents, Dr. Novikov received his Master's degree in Business and Foreign Trade in the Gulf States from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, and his PhD in the politics and economy of Arabic countries from the Moscow Institute of Social Sciences. He also has extensive practical experience in Central Asia and the Persian Gulf region. As an elite Soviet expert on Islamic affairs, his responsibilities over the years ranged from instruction in the theory and practice of socialism to students from Islamic countries to advising Arab leaders on political affairs, international relations and trade issues. His official duties as a representative of the Soviet Communist Party's International Department provided Dr. Novikov with the opportunity to establish close personal and working relationships with many high-ranking officials in Islamic republics, including Yemen, Iraq and Kuwait. Following his defection to the United States in 1988, Dr. Novikov served on the faculty of the U.S. Naval War College and of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Germany, where he instructed pro-democracy leaders of the then newly independent nations of Central Asia.